Can I Run Away Now?
by Squire of Gothos
Summary: Shinji finds himself in the enviable position of fatherhood quite a bit earlier than he expected.


Shinji's entry plug was full of tension, and it wasn't the sexual kind. The targeting hood that protruded from his plug-seat to cover his head showed him a scene that inevitably led to his imminent demise. A giant wheel nearly half the size of a football field turned on its side was barreling along the ground. A series of spikes radiating out from the center tore up the earth as it moved.

"Dummkoph, you'd better not miss, dammit!" The voice wailing in his ear came from the girl whose Evangelion was dug in directly in the Angel's path.

"What makes you say something like that, Asuka? I'm at the range even more than you, and you've been training a lot longer than I have-" A warbling tone of lock sounded in his ears. He reflexively squeezed the trigger of his butterfly control. The rifle nestled against his shoulder bucked, but not as hard as he was used to. This was logical, though. The rifle he was using was the Eva equivalent of a high-powered dart gun.

If you considered that the dart had to carry a very exotic AT-penetrator, a shaped charge to blow a hole in the Angel and yet not kill it, so that several hundred gallons of 'Angelic sedative' could be pumped into the target's interior.

The slug left the short stocky barrel of his rifle and whistled downrange, its passage through the atmosphere leaving a trail of expanding gases behind it much like a visible tracer round. The dart merged with the Angel signature on his screen... then passed through digging a furrow into the ground on the other side.

"Well, shit," Shinji muttered. The Angel continued to tear its way towards Asuka's Unit Two.

"What did I say?" Asuka shrieked. "What the _fuck_ did I just say?"

Shinji cleared his throat. "Ah, don't miss?" he answered apologetically.

"And what did you just do?"

Shinji sighed. "You know, to be fair-" Over the comm channel he heard the high-pitched whine of Asuka powering her energy cannon to maximum.

The normally-bouncy voice of Captain Misato Katsuragi came over the comm frequency. "Asuka, no! If you hit it with that much energy, you'll destroy it!"

"Gottdammit!" Asuka yelled. "I miss the days when all we had to do was kill'em and be done with it!" She readjusted the power level of her weapon, and then fired. A dazzling pink beam left the barrel of her rifle and crossed the distance between her and the Angel like a bolt of lightning. The pink streamer of energy reflected off a bluish hexagon of light and shot up into the sky, where it dissipated. The Angel kept coming.

The voice of Doctor Ritsuko Akagi came over the comm channel. "Its pattern is shifting to green! I think it's very close to giving birth!"

"You know," Asuka griped, "If I'd ever heard anything as insane as that in the past, it would have made me want to kill it even faster. Hell, it still makes me want to kill it faster!" She cranked the power up a few notches and fired. The bolt reflected off the Angel's field again.

"Asuka," Ritsuko's voice was tense, "if you take the power any higher, when you do break through its AT-Field, you'll probably kill it!"

"I know, I know," the girl spat, tossing the rifle aside and deploying both her progressive knives as she stood her Eva to its feet.

"You can't go into close combat, you might injure Angel's children!" Ritsuko warned.

"Well, if you've got another option for me, I'll gladly take it-" She was just reaching for her progressive knives when the Angel accelerated, shot forward, and impacted her. The Eva left its knives behind. The twin weapons hung in the air for a split second before falling to the earth.

Before Asuka could scream even once, the Angel had skewered her Eva on its spikes, and had run her over three times as it continued to roll with her stuck onto it. Then the Angel came to a halt, and she was ejected into the air, to land in a heap a mile away.

Asuka shook her head woozily, looking up as the monster loomed closer over her. "Shinji, when we get out of this," she slurred, "I swear to ass, I'm gonna kick your God." No, wait, that wasn't right. Then there was a flash of light, a meaty thunk, and the Angel slowly keeled over.

Shinji's video link popped up on her display. "You're welcome!" he said brightly.

"Yeah, I've got your thanks right here," Asuka snarled. With the last of her Eva's power, she flipped him off.

* * *

><p>Later that day, after school let out, Asuka was busy storming her way home.<p>

"Hey Asuka, wait up!" Shinji called.

"Shut it, Idiot!" she yelled over her shoulder. "I still haven't forgiven you for this morning! How could you let my poor Unit Two get humiliated like that?" A true sense of hurt lingered in the tone of her wail.

"C'mon, Asuka, how may times do I have to apologize?" Shinji said. "I know it was my fault, but the target was a giant wheel! Most of it was empty space! At least I hit it the second time."

"Yeah, well, miracles do happen," Asuka snapped. She let him catch up, that was about as forgiving as she felt like being for the moment. They walked in silence for the next few minutes, and Asuka decided that for once he really might mean it. He really might be feeling bad this one time. "So, did the Angel finally give birth?" She asked, casting an eye in his direction. It wouldn't do to have him getting too depressed, she decided.

"Yeah, the big Hoopiel is now a proud mother of three baby Hoopiels. They're all safely back in their cages now. We got them back in time for the morning rush, even."

"'Hoopiel'?" Asuka snorted. "That's such a stupid name."

"Well, it's not the official name for that particular species, but I can't pronounce what they really call it, so..."

"Well, thank Heavens they got the mother and children back in time for morning rush," Asuka said caustically. "All it took was the small sacrifice of my pride as a pilot and as a woman!"

"Hey now," Shinji said soothingly, "the Angel Zoo is really important! It's the pride of Japan, you know that."

"Well Japan's sunk pretty low, then!" Asuka snapped.

"It's paid for the Eva Project several times over," Shinji pointed out, "and it's responsible for almost all of Japan's tourism."

"I know, I know...!" Asuka said mournfully. "You don't have to remind me. It's just that, before, I was piloting Eva to save the world, and now I'm just a glorified zoo-keeper!"

"Well, it's a tough job, but we're the only ones that can do it," Shinji said cheerfully.

Asuka cast a baleful eye in his direction. "Speaking of tough jobs, did I hear the rumors right?"

"Ah, what rumors?" Shinji asked innocently.

"The rumors that you turned down a girl from Class Three who confessed to you during lunch, of course! Don't play dumb with me!" Asuka stomped closer to him, her fists on her hips.

"Now wait a minute!" Shinji held up his hands placatingly. "I didn't do anything wrong, all I did was tell her no! I mean, my life's complicated enough right now, I just don't think I could deal with any more-"

"Idiot!" Asuka yelled, hitting him over the head. "What's going through that empty head of yours? Don't you know how much courage it takes for a girl to work up the nerve to confess her love?"

"O-Oh," Shinji tried to ward off further blows. "Well, I never really thought of it like that," he admitted. "Do you really think I should go out with her, then?"

"Hell no!" Asuka swatted him again, making him cringe back. "It's obvious you don't love her, do you really want to make her cry? Do you honestly enjoy constantly hurting every woman you meet?"

Shinji sighed in frustration. Asuka's logic was so confusing sometimes. "Honestly, this really isn't any of your business anyway," he blurted out. He immediately winced, preparing himself for more punishment. The expected punishment never came. He cracked an eye open. Her cheeks had taken on a faint red hue.

"W-Well, I just don't want you taking advantage of anybody because of how stupid you can be," Asuka muttered. "You're always surrounded by girls, it makes me wonder how a stupid idiot like you could find himself in that kind of situation." By now they were almost to the apartment complex where Shinji lived.

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. The worst was probably over. _Besides, I wonder whose fault it is I have such a hard time dealing with girls._ He did not voice this thought, however. That would only have gotten him killed.

"-but anyway," Asuka said, "we need to finish your English homework, so let's not stand around." She took his arm and dragged him towards his apartment complex. "Honestly," she griped, "if I wasn't here, you'd have flunked out by now..."

"You're coming over again?" he said, trying to put on the brakes. "My place is pretty messy, I don't think-"

"What, is there something you don't want me to see?" Asuka taunted him with a sly smile.

"No, there's nothing like that!" he insisted.

She turned and continued walking beside him, her arm in his as she hummed faintly. "Well then," she said, palming his door open, "there shouldn't be a proble-ha-HARGH!" The redhead was frozen on the spot, her hand still on the door controls, her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open. Shinji stood and stared.

A girl was standing in the middle of the living room. She was tall, pale, and very curvaceous. Blue hair streamed down her shoulders like a waterfall, reaching to the middle of her back. And she was stark naked except for the towel wrapped around her. "I just got out of the bath," the girl said softly. "I apologize for using it without asking, Shinji." It only took one quick glance to see that Rei had done a lot of growing up, or in this case, growing out.

Asuka backed away, her eyes flickering from Rei's chest to her own as she stumbled back. "W-Well, it looks like I'm in the way here, so I'll just be going-"

"No, you've misunderstood!" Shinji grabbed hold of her shoulders before she could squeeze past him out the door.

"Naked Rei in your apartment!" Asuka yelled, squirming in his arms as she tried to get away. "What's there to misunderstand?"

"She doesn't have anywhere else to go!" Shinji insisted. "There was no one else to take her in. What did you want me to do? I mean, she's practically the only family I've got left! Would you have respected me if I dumped her on the street?" He turned his head. "Rei, put some clothes on," he said as an aside before returning his gaze to Asuka.

The redhead fumed for a few moments, glaring at the ground. "Whatever," she finally snapped. "I guess I can live with that."

"Well, I'm glad we cleared that up," Shinji said, relieved. It often surprised him just how quickly Asuka settled down sometimes, when he expected her to fly off the handle. And then other times she flew off the handle when he least expected it. "I mean, it's not like we want rumors at school," he said with a laugh. He jumped when he felt something warm and soft push against his arm.

"I... wouldn't mind rumors," Rei said quietly, slipping her arm through Shinji's. The girl's cheeks had gone pink.

"What?" Asuka shrieked. Shinji sweated.

Rei continued. "I'm going to be staying here for an extended period of time." She turned to glance briefly at Shinji, before dropping her gaze again. "It's only proper that we... get married."

Asuka was clearly stunned. She had apparently never considered that such words would ever come out of Rei's mouth.

"W-Wait," Shinji said, "isn't that a little sudden? I mean, I've never thought of you like that... and-"

"Shinji," Asuka hissed into his ear, "how can you just turn her down so flatly like that?"

"Would you rather I married her?" Shinji said out of the corner of his mouth.

"Well, no! But-"

The pink hue on Rei's cheeks had become darker. "Well," the girl meandered, turning even more pink, "I wish you wouldn't say it so bluntly. You might change your mind later." A drop of glistening wetness balanced at the edge of her eyes, then slid down her cheek. The girl swiped it away with a pale hand.

"What the hell!" Asuka yelled, hitting Shinji on the head. "You just made her cry, you idiot!"

Shinji glanced at Asuka, then back to Rei, who had stopped wiping at her eyes. Tear-tracks lined the girl's cheeks. She was looking at the wetness on her hands as if she didn't fully understand. "Rei, I'm sorry," he said.

"Well," Asuka folded her arms, "it's not like it's my business what you do!" Inwardly, the redhead was quite pleased Shinji had turned Rei down.

"No!" A high-pitched female voice suddenly yelled. "It _is_ your business!"

There was a bright flash of light overhead, a brief crackling snarl of electricity, and then a hazy outline materialized four meters up in the air. The figure became distinct, then solidified with a pop. It was a girl about ten years old, and her backside collided with Shinji's face when she fell out of the air.

The girl was dressed in a form-fitting yellow jump-suit that left her legs and arms bare. The outfit flared at the waist, forming a kind of skirt that barely reached past her thighs. The entire outfit was made of a rubber-like material that was not immediately recognizable. "KYAAA!" the girl jumped off Shinji's face. She glared down at the boy, her hands on her butt. Then she did something incomprehensible. She reached out her hand to help him up. Asuka stepped forward, her face white with shock and disbelief.

"Wh-Who are you?" Shinji mumbled, as the girl helped him to his feet. Now that he got a good look at her, she had waist-length red hair that was very much like Asuka's.

"Well, that's pretty rude!" the little girl exclaimed. "But I'll forgive you cause you probably don't know yet. My name is Akane, and I'm papa's," she took Shinji's hand with her left hand, "and mama's," she took Asuka's hand in her right, "daughter!" She grinned cheerfully at Shinji, then at Asuka.

"What?" Shinji and Asuka yelled together.

* * *

><p>Shinji had sunk down to sit on the couch, and Rei was still frozen to the spot in the center of the living room, her towel held loosely around her.<p>

"No, I really am from the future, and I can prove it!" Akane bounded to the center of the room and traced a square in the air with her finger. The air came to life, like a computer monitor hovering in the center of the room, a two-foot-by-two-foot screen that showed graphs and scrolling text that made no sense to anyone else in the room. "See? This is the read-out of my suit's functions! Ooh, hold on, I think I've got a shrink-ray in here somewhere..." she rummaged in her pockets, finally coming out with a futuristic laser-pistol-looking-thing that in no way could have fit in whatever pockets there were in her form-fitting garment.

"No, no!" Shinji exclaimed. "We believe you, don't-don't use the shrink-ray, or whatever that is..."

"-aww." Akane appeared crestfallen. Then her face lit up. "Oh, hey, I've got family pictures!" She pulled a small square out of her pocket and bounced over to Shinji.

"-aah!" Shinji covered his eyes. "Don't show me, I said I believe you, okay?"

"You're no fun, papa," Akane sulked.

At this very moment, Asuka was huddled in the corner, her head in her hands, her eyes wide. A million things were running through her head.

_I can't believe this is happening. I just can't. But what am I supposed to think when the end result is right there in front of my eyes?_

_What about the confession? What about the emotion? What about the dating? Will Shinji and I ever hold hands? Will we ever hold each other and tenderly kiss-_ "-no-no-no!" She shook her head, trying to wipe away that thought.

_Wait._ Asuka looked back behind her. _If we have a daughter, then that Thing,_ she glanced towards Shinji, _would have to use his 'thing'_ she shuddered, _in my... in my..._ she closed her eyes, her face getting redder and redder.

"Mama," Akane exclaimed cheerfully, putting her hand on Asuka's shoulder, "what are you doing in the corner-"

"GYAHAHA!" Asuka shot to her feet, her face bright red. "Nothing!" she yelled. "I wasn't thinking about Shinji's dick in my-" She clapped her hands over her mouth desperately.

Asuka calmly took stock of who she would have to kill. Akane was looking up at her innocently, Shinji was staring blankly at a wall, and Rei was nowhere to be found. Well, maybe no one had to be killed after all. "So," Asuka coughed delicately. "Why have you come here, Shinji's-daughter?" She tried to gather her scattered wits. "I know it's the future, supposedly, but to travel through time, you must have a good reason-"

"That's obvious," Akane said with a huff. "I'm here to make sure you two stick to the plan! See, it's simple." She opened up a graphical window in mid-air. On it was one male symbol with the tag 'Shinji' beside it. "In my time period, papa's possible relationships are unstable," Akane explained. A half-dozen unnamed female symbols popped into existence surrounding Shinji's symbol. "He's what you might call a womanizer."

"Somehow that figures," Asuka snapped, glaring at Shinji.

"What?" Shinji retorted. "Now hold on a minute-"

"So I came to make sure I get born," Akane exclaimed. "I'm here to make sure papa does the right thing!"

"That's not true," a quiet voice interrupted. Rei had come back into the living room, now wearing a pair of purple sweat-pants and a matching sweat-shirt. "What I mean is, I don't believe you," Rei corrected herself. Her blue hair ran like a mane down her back, she had not taken the time to gather it into any kind of hair-style.

Akane wore yellow gloves made of the same material her suit was made out of. She pulled one of them off and held up her hand. It was faded, practically see-through. "Look!" the girl proclaimed. "The future it so unstable that I'm not even completely solid! I have to use these gloves just to touch things!" She pulled her glove back on. Rei had fallen silent.

Asuka looked at her daughter, her face betraying her shock. "W-Well," the redhead stuttered, "What can we do?" Inwardly she was pleased, even if she did feel like she was going crazy.

"Ah, what do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"I mean," Asuka yelled, "we have to do the humane thing!"

Rei opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Wait," she protested. "Wait just a moment-"

"Well," Shinji meandered, "even if you put it like that, this isn't really something that... I mean..."

"C'mon!" Akane yelled. "There's only one option here!"

"Alright, I know," Shinji said with a sigh, pulling himself forwards to the couch's edge. "I mean, I really do only have one option here, right?" Asuka couldn't believe her eyes. Shinji was actually manning up. The boy nodded. "I'll do my best..." he said, steeling himself and looking at Akane, "-to run away!"

The boy bolted, leaping over the back of the couch and running for his room. When he got there, he shut the door. There was a loud click that indicated the rooms in this particular apartment building had locks, unlike the ones in Misato's.

Asuka shook her head disbelievingly. Just once, she would have liked to see the impossible, but apparently that was too much to ask. "Don't just run away from this!" she yelled, stomping over to his door. "You'd abandon your own child?"

"She's not mine," Shinji's muffled voice echoed through the closed door. "I didn't do anything to get her!"

* * *

><p>Inside his room, Shinji was sitting on the edge of his futon, his head in his hands. "-can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening...!"<p>

There was a flash of light, a harsh crackle of electricity, and Akane fell onto his bed. Shinji just looked at her, his eyes wide. The last time he had gone through events of this magnitude, the world had come to an end.

Akane sat up in bed, looking at him with a wide-eyes innocent stare similar to his own. "Papa, I can't keep using my time-travel hardware like this! Just give up and come quietly," the girl insisted. "I'm not asking you to do something that's painful. Won't it feel good?" The little girl's begging took on a sensual quality. She took Shinji's hand and tried to pull him to his feet. "Mama's in the other room, I'm sure she'd be willing-"

"Can't-" Shinji swallowed against a dry throat, "can't you just give me some privacy? I don't want to think about this right now. Don't they have the concept of personal space in the future? Even if you are my daughter-"

"But, I'm desperate here!" Akane wailed. "If I disappear..." She looked down, then shook her head side to side. "I don't want think about it! That's not all that'll happen either." She looked solemnly up at Shinji. "Your affection for mama will disappear too. It's really sad." Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"But," Shinji stammered, his heart in his throat, "it's not like I really think of Asuka that way," he mumbled. In his mind, he pictured Asuka hitting his head every morning when they woke up. Not that Asuka didn't already hit him every day.

"Papa, do you really hate mama that much in this time period?" Akane asked.

"Well, hate is a really strong word," Shinji backpedaled. "I mean, she's physically beautiful, but-" He cut off when a light seemed to come on in Akane's eyes. The girl suddenly pulled up the front of her skirt, displaying her panties. "WAAH!" Shinji covered his eyes, but cracked one open. "What... What're you-"

"I get it now!" Akane said, nodding her head once and letting go of her skirt. "Papa is a closet pervert, but on top of that, he's not consciously aware of it." The little girl bounced towards Shinji, pushing him down. "Why didn't I see it sooner?" she said to herself. "You don't really understand girls, so all I have to do is teach you!"

"AACK!" Shinji fumbled, but Akane's squirming movements hindered him from pushing her off.

"If I teach you," Akane said, her voice suddenly silken smooth and sensual, "then you'll understand, and then you'll like mama, right?" she cooed into his ear. "Well, lesson one is about this thing here..." she reached down for his midsection, and her hand found what it was looking for. "Oh good, your body already understands even if you don't!" she winked at him.

Shinji gasped for breath, but she was lying on top of him, and if he moved, he would only get more excited.

"PEDOPHILE!" Asuka shrieked, kicking Shinji's door down. The redhead charged forward and pulled Akane off of Shinji. "You'd do things like this with your own daughter!" She put her arms protectively around Akane, her furious gaze flickered down to his midsection, where even through his pants, he was indeed 'ready'.

"No!" Shinji exclaimed, covering himself, his face burning with embarrassment. "I didn't-"

Akane sighed regretfully. "Well, you're right mama," the girl said, looking up at Asuka. "I guess it would be a little weird..."

"Realize that sooner!" Asuka snapped, her face red. "Little freak," she mumbled. "-definitely got some of Shinji's genes in her..."

"That's true," Akane said thoughtfully. "We should just do this instead!" She dodged around behind Asuka and pulled her skirt up. Shinji's eyes widened, and he redoubled his effort to cover his midsection.

"KYAAAA!" Asuka shoved down at her skirt, but Akane was persistent.

"Mama, your body is perfect for childbirth, even right now!" the girl said excitedly.

"Stop." Rei's quiet voice carried even over the shouting. The girl was standing in the doorway and her cheeks had gone pink. "If... if we're all showing our underwear," she mumbled, "then don't leave me out." She began pulling her sweat-pants off.

Shinji's twitching eyes could not grow any larger. "Rei," he said in a strangled gasp, "what're you-"

The blue-haired girl was apparently so flustered that she tripped over her own sweat-pants as she stepped out of them. She fell forward on top of Shinji, who put up his hands to try to cushion her fall. His hands found cushions. Two of them. They were nearly twice as large as they had been when he had first accidentally grabbed them years ago in her dingy apartment.

"Hey!" Asuka exclaimed, her finger twitching as it pointed towards Shinji. "That's... Stop that!"

Rei's blush had grown quite deep, her face a dark pink. "I don't mind," she said softly, looking at Shinji through embarrassed crimson eyes. She leaned closer to Shinji.

Akane pulled away from her mother and dove towards Rei. "You might not mind, but I do!" she yelled, trying to drag Rei off of Shinji. Rei was too heavy, however. Akane suddenly stopped, her eyes wide. She jerked, putting her hand over her chest.

"What's wrong?" Asuka exclaimed, coming forward and putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"P-Papa, he just," Akane whispered, falling back into Asuka's arms limply. Asuka sat down, letting the girl rest in her lap. "Papa just now started liking that girl more," Akane explained weakly, "more than you!" The little girl flinched. "It hurts, mama..."

"Hang in there," Asuka said soothingly, then she shot a caustic glare towards Shinji.

"I know I'm about to disappear," Akane said, her voice quavering, "so just listen to my last request."

"Anything you want," Asuka said, her voice breaking.

"I want you to make me now." Akane suddenly pulled at Asuka's blouse, stripping it off. Asuka's face went red, but she didn't cover her chest. After all, Rei was practically naked in Shinji's lap. If that girl could do it, so could she. The redhead closed her eyes, steeling herself. When she opened them, she had pushed all doubt away back into a part of her mind she would examine later. She moved on her hands and knees towards Shinji, then paused to unhook her bra and let it fall to the bed. Rei got a panicked look in her eyes and began stripping out of her underwear as well.

"Wait!" Shinji said desperately. "Hold on, let me ask something really quick!" He glanced towards Akane, who was lying on the futon, mimicking death warmed over. "Do we have to..." his eyes flicked over to a naked Asuka, "...'do it' right this second?" Asuka froze, Rei froze, and Akane cracked her eyes open. "I mean, judging by Akane's age, wouldn't we have waited at least a few years?"

"Ah, you're right!" the yellow-clothed girl said cheerfully, bouncing up to a sitting position. "I must have forgotten that little wrinkle when I was pretending to be hurt!"

Asuka's face slowly went a very dark red. The color spread down to her breasts. "WHAAT!" Her eyes riveted onto Shinji's, whose eyes were most certainly riveted somewhere else on her body, a foot lower than her eyes. The redhead held her clothes to her front with one hand, and proceeded to wail on him with the other.

"Wait -ouch!- just hold on, Asuka," Shinji tried to calm the girl down. "You hold on, too," he said to Rei, who was pulling at his arm, her blue hair cascading over her bare breasts. The albino suddenly seemed to come to herself, and went a deep pink. She looked down at herself, then backed away from Shinji and began pulling her clothes back on. Asuka backed away as well, still holding her clothes to her chest, her face bright red.

Shinji turned to Akane. "I'll admit, I don't know exactly what's going on," he said quietly. "But I really do think things will work out." He smiled hesitantly. "Just have a little patience. I know I can be a klutz, and I know Asuka can be violent."

"What?" Asuka yelped, then subsided when she realized she was proving his point.

"But I know she means well," Shinji continued. He grinned at Asuka, who shifted uneasily, her face burning. He turned back to Akane. "What I'm saying is, if you let things play out, I know we'll eventually have you. You'll just have to trust me-" Shinji's words were interrupted by a loud crackling pop.

"I cannot allow that." A small girl about the same age as Akane now stood beside Rei. She wore a dull red jump-suit made of similar materials as the one Akane wore, except her suit ended in a shorter tighter skirt, and unlike Akane, her suit had full-length close-fitting sleeves. The girl had close-cropped blue hair that very much resembled Rei's hairstyle back during the war. "I have to protect my own existence as well."

A stunned Asuka turned to Akane. "Do you have a sister?" she asked.

"No, I don't know that girl at all," Akane answered. "She must be another time traveler!"

The other girl nodded. "My name is Mae," she said. She turned blank crimson eyes to Shinji. "And in my timeline, you'll choose mother." Mae took Rei's hand. "The two of you will be happy together." Her voice was completely toneless.

"Wait-wait-wait!" Akane exclaimed. "Isn't it selfish to come back to the past just for your own reasons?"

"Look who's talking," Mae said evenly.

Rei shifted closer to Mae, hesitantly reaching her hand and touching the little girl's spiky blue hair. "It's short," she murmured. "Just like mine was... back then." Her crimson eyes glazed over.

Asuka held her head and moaned to herself.

Akane glared at the newcomer.

Shinji lifted a hand hesitantly. "Umm, can I run away now?"


End file.
